Posts and podcast episodes covering auto racing history.
In the seventh episode of “Tim Coffeen Talks Indy Car and Racing History,” Tim looks back at his relationship with driver Jan Opperman, an American racing legend who left us way too soon. Opperman was a competitive racer, but also a man of the cloth, and those two seemingly opposite interests were quite unusual in … Read more
In retirement, do we always seek the refuge of our favorite golf course or the comfort of that familiar rocking chair? While Tim Coffeen has retired from Indy Car racing, he has never truly retired from the challenge of working on race cars. In Tim’s case, rocking chairs and golf clubs have been replaced by … Read more
It was 2002 and driver Cristiano da Matta roared to the CART championship with the Newman-Haas race team. With seven wins and seven pole positions, it was a glorious season for the Newman-Haas crew. However, Tim notes that this was also the last great year for the CART series with the schism between the Indy … Read more
In 1993, team owner Carl Haas both surprised and shocked the Indy Car world by importing the reigning Formula One champion, Nigel Mansell, to join the Newman-Haas organization. It was a bold and unprecedented move, but how would the existing crew react to working for a world-famous driver who literally had no experience on oval … Read more
It sounds like a nightmare… When your race car transport truck stops for gas, you hop out for a moment only to return and find the truck gone! In the days before cell phones, you’re left without your wallet, your shirt, and no visible means of catching up with the truck. What do you do? … Read more